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EUROPEAN HISTORY.— Course C. 



1889. 



S. M. MACVANE, 

Harvard University. 






Copyright, 

1889, 

By S. M. MACVANE. 



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Press ofJ.J. Little & Co., 
Astor Place, New York. 



European History— Course C. 

Introduction. — The student should work carefully through at least one gen- 
eral history, using at the same time a second general account for comparison at 
every important point. One of the first lessons the student of history must learn is 
that no one book, however excellent, contains the whole truth of history. Every 
writer has his own point of view, and is liable to have his judgment of men and 
measures affected by his preconceived theories. It is not in the nature of the case 
that any one account should do justice to all the men and the parties that have 
figured in the history of a people. The general study should be supplemented by 
a thorough study of a number of selected topics. 

Students are strongly advised to keep notes of their reading, especially of their 
reading on special topics. Everything that seems of importance should be entered 
in brief, with a reference to the source of information. The mere act of making 
a note serves two useful purposes : it compels one to make sure that one has caught 
the sense of the passage noted, and secondly it aids the memory. The note itself 
may later save much trouble in reinvestigating ; and it will be found extremely 
handy for purposes of review. 

Some students find it very useful to make a general abstract or skeleton of the 
whole history. Those who have difficulty in grasping the general outline of the 
story are advised to try the effect of this course. 

General Note regarding the Courses in History. — Each course is 
expected to occupy about six hours a week for a year. If the outline of the 
work to be done should seem vague, it must be remembered that historical study 
does not admit definite prescriptions and narrow limitations. The work will 
grow clear to the earnest student as he proceeds. 

The number of topics to be investigated must depend on the thoroughness of 
each investigation. The results of at least one investigation must be written out 
and submitted as a thesis. 

Course C covers modern European History, from 1600 to 1750. Course D 
begins with 1750. 



UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 



The History of Europe from the Beginning of the 17TH to 
THE Middle of the i8th Century. 

This course has three main centres of interest: (i) The contest 
in England between the Stuart kings and the ParUament, ending in 
the estabhshment of parhamentary government. (2) The Cathohc 
reaction in Germany, leading to the Thirty Years' War and the prac- 
tical disruption of the empire. (3) The establishment of the abso- 
lute monarchy in France, the growth of French ascendancy in 
Europe, and the struggle of the other powers against the unscrupu- 
lous ambition of Louis XIV. 

GENERAL WORKS. 

Dyer's Modern History (5 volumes) is a somewhat dry but 
clear narrative of the chief events in the history of all the leading 
countries. It is especially serviceable for international affairs, sum- 
maries of treaties, etc. A shorter work of the same kind is Lodge's 
Modern History. Woolsey's International Law has an appen- 
dix giving the chief points in all the important modern treaties. 

Freeman's Historical Geography is of great value in follow- 
ing the changes of national boundaries. The accompanying atlas 
is poor, the maps being on much too small a scale for general pur- 
poses. The best historical atlas is probably Droysen's Hand-atlas. 

Menke's Spruner's Atlas is also excellent, especially for Ger- 
many, These are large and expensive books. Wolf's or Rhode's 
Schul-atlas will be found sufficient for ordinary purposes. 

Careful attention to geography is essential to the study of history 



EUROPEAN HISTORY.— COURSE C. 



Tillinghast's translation (enlarged) of Ploetz's Epitome of 
Universal History is extremely convenient as an abstract. A 
fuller outline for the English part is Acland and Ransome's Hand- 
book of English Political History. 

An excellent bibliography of English history throughout is found 
in Gardiner and Mullinger's Introduction to the Study of Eng- 
lish History. 

To these may be added Earl Stanhope's Reign of Queen Anne 
(2 volumes), and Lord Mahon's England from 1713 to 1783 (7 
volumes), both by the same writer under different titles. This author 
leans to the Tory side in political questions, but is eminently fair ; 
he offers an instructive contrast to Macaulay's glowing Whiggism. 
Macaulay's review of his work may be read with profit (Essays). 

(i) English History : Large General Works. 

There are three extended narratives covering between them the 
whole of the 17th century. These are : 

Gardiner's larger work (11 volumes, 10 issued), covering the 
reigns of James L and Charles L 

Masson's Life of Milton, a work of great interest and value, 
brings the history down to 1774. 

Macaulay's History of England begins with the accession of 
James IL, but in chapters ii. and iii. an admirable account is given 
of the reign of Charles II. 

Lingard's History of England (from the earliest times to 
1688, 10 volumes) is an able work, and is of special value as giving 
the views of a moderate Roman Catholic regarding the religious 



UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 



questions that occupied so large a place in the history of the seven- 
teenth century. Green's Short History of the English People 
has an extremely brilliant outline of English history for the whole 
period (chapters viii.-x.). 

Bright's History of England (Vols. II. and III.) gives a more 
strictly chronological narrative, with many aids in the way of tables, 
lists of ministers, etc. 

One of the shorter general accounts is enough to read through. 
Further study is more profitably given to the investigation of special 
topics. 

Ranke's History of England in the i6th and 17th Cen- 
turies (6 volumes, translation) is particularly full regarding the 
foreign diplomacy ; but there is a touch of vagueness in the treat- 
ment — at least, beginners find it so. 

Hallam's great work is still the standard history of the English 
Constitution during the Stuart period (beginning at chapter vi.). 
His book, however, presents great difficulties for students who are 
unfamiliar with feudal and legal terminology. 

Taswell-Langmead's English Constitutional History makes 
a poor substitute for Hallam, being too brief for full discussion ; but 
it is good so far as it goes. 

Gardiner's History, Masson's Milton, Lingard, and Lord 
Stanhope, are rather books to consult on special topics than to read 
throughout. Macaulay may be used in the same way, but those 
who use it at all are likely to read the whole of it. 

Any student who reads freely in other books may safely omit the 
study of Hallam. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY. — COURSE C. 



SMALLER GENERAL WORKS, AND BOOKS ON SPECIAL 

SUBJECTS. 

Blight's History of England, Vols. II. and III. 

Green's Short History of the English People. 

Gardiner's Puritan Revolution (Epoch Series). 

The latter gives a highly useful general sketch of the reigns of 
James I. and Charles I. This is a good book with which to begin. 
Those who prefer a somewhat briefer sketch will find one in the 
second volume of Bright's History of England. A summary of 
the chief points may be found in Tillinghast's translation of Ploetz's 
Epitome, or in Acland and Ransome's Handbook. Each student 
is advised, however, to make an outline for himself. 

After mastering the general features of the period, the student 
should follow up, in the larger works or in special treatises, a num- 
ber of the subjects that are treated in the sketch. It is a pretty safe 
rule to choose for this purpose topics that have aroused his interest 
in any way. In the reign of James I. there is not much that is 
highly dramatic or exciting ; yet it offers such matters as the " Main 
and the Bye," the Hampton Court Conference, the Gunpowder 
Plot, the Translation of the Bible, the question of Benevolences and 
of Impositions, the career of Somerset and the rise of Buckingham, 
the dismissal of Coke, the fall of Chancellor Bacon, the Great Pro- 
testation, the marriage of Princess Elizabeth with Frederick of the 
Palatinate, and, finally, the projected Spanish marriage for the 
Prince of Wales. A special study of several of these will be found 
to yield much light as to the state of society and government in Eng- 



UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 



land at the opening of our period. Such studies are indispensable 
for understanding the subsequent troubles. 

In investigating special topics the student soon learns to use books, 
not as masters to be slavishly followed, but as helps towards dis- 
covering the truth. Use the index (or the table of contents, if there 
be no index) ; when you meet a reference to a passage on the sub- 
ject in another book, make a note of the volume and page. 

The student of history must abandon the idea of reading the 
whole of every book he uses, as well as the hope of remembering all 
that he reads. The chief value of historical study is not so much 
the amount of exact information that one carries away from it, as 
the insight it gives into the life and thought of other times, and the 
wholesome intellectual training that the study gives. The reign of 
Charles I. is much more stirring than that of his father. The stu- 
dent's difficulty here will be to choose, among the multitude of great 
topics, the few which he can find time to make subjects of special 
study. Perhaps the following list may be helpful : The French War, 
the Petition of Right, the imprisonment of Sir John Eliot, the 
treatment of the Puritans by Laud, the irregular modes of raising 
revenue, especially knighthood fines and ship money, the Bishops' 
Wars, the Short Parliament, the situation at the meeting of the Long 
Parliament, the trial of Strafford, the Rebellion in Ireland, the 
attempted arrest of the Five Members, the points of disagreement 
between King and Parliament (Militia and Episcopacy), the division 
of Parties, and the appeal to arms. 

The details of purely military history may be omitted for the most 
part ; but such events as the *' New Modelling " of the army, the Scot- 



EUROPEAN HISTORY. — COURSE C. 



tish intervention, and decisive battles like Marston Moor and Naseby, 
deserve careful attention. The sojourn of Charles with the Scots* 
army, and the protracted negotiations that followed his surrender to 
the Parliament, present a tangled network which nothing but patient 
study can make clear. Perhaps the most instructive topic for special 
investigation in this part of the history may be found in the negotia- 
tions between the King and Parliament during Charles's detention at 
Carisbrooke Castle. 

The following books are named (in addition to Gardiner's larger 
work and Masson's Milton) for use in making special investigations : 

Spedding's Life of Bacon ; Forster's Life of Sir John Eliot ; 
Bayne's Chief Actors in the Puritan Revolution ; Life of 
Colonel Hutchinson, by his wife ; Sandford's Memorials of the 
Great Rebellion (not at all a military history); Markham's Life of 
Fairfax ; Macaulay's essay on Hampden and his review of Hal- 
lam ; Goldwin Smith's Three English Statesmen (Pym and 
Cromwell are two of the three); Mozley's Essays (Laud, Strafford, 
and Cromwell) are of great value as a clear exposition of the Royalist 
side in the struggle ; Forster's Arrest of tl\e Five Members 
and his Grand Remonstrance give the opposite view. 

The volumes of the Parliamentary History contain a great 
mass of materials ; also, the State Trials, Verney's Notes, and 
Baillie's Letters are original sources of great value. 

The " Calendars of State Papers," and especially the " Intro- 
ductions " to the several volumes, may be consulted occasionally with 
great advantage. The series is not yet completed. 

A full bibliography of the period may be found in Gardiner and 
Mullinger's Introduction, already mentioned. 



lO UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 

(2) Continental History : The Thirty Years' War. 

Gardiner's Thirty Years' War (Epoch Series) gives an excel- 
lent sketch. 

The translation of Gindely's shorter Geschichte des Dreissig- 
Jahrigen Kriegs (two volumes) gives a fuller account, and is in 
some respects easier to follow. Trench's Gustavus Adolphus is 
an admirable account of the condition of German affairs during the 
period of the Swedish king's career. Ward's House of Austria in 
the Thirty Years' War is also excellent. Gardiner's larger 
work has very full details regarding England's participation in the 
war. Hausser's Period of the Reformation (15 17-1648) has a 
good account of the general state of Europe, and of the course of 
events during the first half of the seventeenth century. 

The first two volumes of Carlyle's Frederick the Great will 
be found highly interesting and instructive. 

Bryce's Holy Roman Empire describes the constitutional re- 
sults for Germany of the war and the peace of Westphalia. 

Kitchin's History of France (Vol. III.) gives a clear account 
of Richelieu's policy, as well as a sufficient account of the course 
of domestic affairs in France throughout the century. 

The study of special topics in continental history is hardly pos- 
sible without the ability to use French and German books. Those 
who have this ability will find the following works serviceable : J. G. 
Droysen's Geschichte der Preussischen Politik ; Ranke's 
Sammtliche Werke, Vol. VII. (also published as a separate vol- 
ume with the title Fiir Deutsche Geschichte vom Religions- 
frieden bis zum Dreissigjahrigen Krieg) ; Freytag's Bilder 



EUROPEAN HISTORY. — COURSE C. II 

aus der Deutschen Vergangenheit (Vol. II.) ; G. Droysen's 
Gustav Adolph ; Ranke's Leben Wallensteins. 

For the second half of the century it is best to devote attention 
mainly to the course of affairs in England — the history of the conti- 
nental states being on the whole rather arid. Enough of the general 
history may be gathered from Hale's Fall of the Stuarts and 
Morris's Age of Anne (Epoch Series), pieced out by occasional 
readings in Dyer's Modern Europe, Martin's Age of Louis 
XIV., Carlyle's Frederick the Great, Coxe's House of Austria, 
or similar works. The third volume of Kitchin's France gives a 
clear though brief account of the reign of Louis XIV. 

As to the selection of topics for special study, each student would 
better follow his own judgment, adapting his choice to the books at 
his command. The following books are named as suitable for use in 
special studies : 

Masson's Milton (to 1774)- 

Carlyle's Cromwell ; Cordery and Philpott's -King and Com- 
monwealth ; Guizot's Cromwell and the Republic. 

Macaulay's Essay on Sir William Temple ; also his His- 
tory throughout. His Essay on the Dramatists of the Res- 
toration is entertaining and instructive. 

Christie's Life of Shaftesbury, for the career of a versatile and 
not too scrupulous politician of the time. 

Saintsbury's Marlborough (English Worthies) is good. 
For a fuller account of Marlborough's career, see Stanhope's Queen 
Anne. 

Lecky's England in the i8th Century, Vol. I. j also, for the 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



12 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. 029 944 924 5 # 

treatment of Ireland, and especially the Irish Land Question, Vol. IL, 
chapters vi. and vii. 

The Diaries of Evelyn and Pepys are lively contemporary 
descriptions of life and manners in the period following the 
Restoration. 

Richard Baxter's Autobiography gives the best contemporary 
account of the position and treatment of the Puritans under the 
Restoration monarchy. Macaulay's passages on ecclesiastical affairs, 
both before and after the Revolution, may be consulted with great 
profit. See also Masson's Milton. 

The political writings of Addison, Steele, Swift and Bolingbroke, 
and Horace Walpole's Memoirs of the Reign of George IL 
are good sources from which to gain ideas as to the party politics of 
the time. 

Chapter xvi. of Hallam's Constitutional History gives a mas- 
terly sketch of the condition of parties in the first half of the i8th 
century. This period is one of quiet growth for the most part, and 
presents fewer attractive subjects for special study than the more 
troubled period which preceded it. 

(3.) Baird's Rise of the Hugonots and Poole's History of 
the Dispersion deal with an important phase of French history. 




029 944 924 5 



